Isaac becomes full-blown hurricane as it nears New Orleans on Katrina anniversary

Slowing-moving Tropical Storm Isaac closed in on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday and was expected to make landfall as a full-blown hurricane in the New Orleans area seven years after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina

NEW ORLEANS — Slowing-moving Tropical Storm Isaac gained full-blown Hurricane status as closed in on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday and was expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area seven years after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Isaac’s winds, rain and storm surge could pose a major test of New Orleans’ new flood control systems and reinforced levees. Forecasts from the U.S. National Hurricane Center showed the storm coming ashore late on Tuesday.

Energy companies evacuated offshore oil rigs and shut down U.S. Gulf Coast refineries as the storm threatened to batter the oil refining belt. As markets mulled Isaac’s potential to tighten fuel supplies, prices for international benchmark Brent crude were up 46¢ to $112.72 a barrel in early Tuesday activity.

[np-related]

AP Photo/The Stuart News, Sam Wolfe

View more photo galleries — Follow NP Photos on Twitter

Isaac was centred 125 km southeast of New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi River with top sustained winds of 119 kph

Its forward speed was a relatively slow 17 kph, a red flag for hurricane and tropical storm experts since slow-moving cyclones can bring higher rainfall totals. The storm was about 595 km wide.

Isaac spared Tampa, Florida, where the Republican National Convention began on Monday. But it forced party leaders to revamp their schedule and they may have to make further revisions so as not to be seen celebrating Mitt Romney getting the party’s presidential nomination while Gulf Coast residents are struggling through the storm.

OBAMA ADDS WARNING

President Barack Obama added his concerns in a statement from the White House, saying, “We’re dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area.

“Now is not the time to tempt fate,” he added, saying people should heed warnings and evacuate if instructed by authorities to do so.

Rain and tropical storm force winds were expected to spread into the Gulf Coast region in the coming hours, bringing the threat of storm surge and flooding.

Isaac had New Orleans in its sights as the city still struggles to recover from Hurricane Katrina, which swept across it on Aug. 29, 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and causing billions of dollars of damage.

Authorities have urged thousands of residents in low-lying areas to evacuate since Monday, warning the storm could flood towns and cities in at least three U.S. Gulf Coast states with a storm surge of up to 3.6 meters.

Rainfall accumulations, potentially totaling as much as 50 cm in some areas, could also trigger widespread flooding.

“Inland flooding historically has been responsible for a lot of fatalities in tropical storms and hurricanes coming ashore,” Hurricane Center director Rick Knabb told CNN. “It’s not just going to be a coastal event.”

Residents in coastal communities from Louisiana to Mississippi stocked up on food and water and tried to secure their homes, cars and boats.

Isaac strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane, the lowest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with top winds of 137 kph. While that would be well below the intensity of Katrina, which was a Category 3 storm, the size of Isaac’s slow-moving system has forecasters predicting widespread flooding.

As the sun rose Tuesday in New Orleans, gusts of wind were the only signs of an approaching storm but along Canal Street in the historic French Quarter, crews were boarding up the windows of stores and businesses.

“I’m not all that concerned about the storm. It’s still a Category 1,” said Charles Neeley, a 69-year-old contractor overseeing workers covering the windows of a CVS drugstore. “We usually ride out ones and twos and get the hell out for threes and fours.”

Nonetheless, Neeley said he had stocked up on food and water at home and fuel for his generator.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Karen Foley, a 23-year-old tourist had planned to travel home to New Jersey with a friend.

“Our flights were canceled so we’re going to be here,” she said. “We are just hoping the city doesn’t get hit again. It doesn’t deserve it.”

After Katrina, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a $14.5-billion defense flood system of walls, floodgates, levees and pumps designed to protect the city against a massive tidal surge like the one that swamped New Orleans in Katrina’s wake.

In low-lying Plaquemines Parish, which could be the first to be lashed by Isaac’s winds and storm surge, workers scrambled to stack sandbags and reinforce levees as Isaac lurked in the Gulf.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Much of the parish lies outside the greater New Orleans levee system, and construction projects to bolster protection are not yet complete.

“We’re really worried about the storm surge. We really need a few more years before we see an event like this,” said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser.

As a precaution, as of Monday afternoon, the energy industry had shut down 78% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude production and 48% of its natural gas production, government figures showed.

The U.S. offshore oil patch produces about 23 percent of the country’s oil output and 7 percent of its natural gas.

Once ashore, the storm could wreak havoc on low-lying fuel refineries along the Gulf Coast that account for about 40 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

The ports of Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans were closed and barge traffic was suspended along southern portions of the Mississippi River.

Isaac killed at least 22 people and caused significant flooding and damage in Haiti and the Dominican Republic before skirting the southern tip of Florida on Sunday.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.